Reciprocating engine.



M. 1. MILLER & H. M. NEER.

RECIPROCATING ENGIN E. APPLICATION FIL'ED JULY 16, I912.

Patented Nov. 6, 1917.

3 SHEETSSHEET M. J. MILLER 6L H; M. NEER.

RECIPROCATING ENGINE. APPLICATION'FILED )ULY 16. 1912.

Patented Nov. 6, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

M. L-MHILER & H.,M. NEER.

RECJPROCATING ENGINE.

. APPLICATION FIILED JULY 16, 1912.

Patented Nov. 1917.- l

a SHEETS-SHEET a.

UNITED STATES PATENT orrron.

MARTIN J. MILLER, 01 AURORA, ILLINOIS, AND HARRY-M. NEER, OF CDLUMBUS,OHIO.

RECIPROGATING ENGINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.-

Application filed July 16, 1912. Serial No. 709,637.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, MARTIN J MIILER and HARRY M. New, citizens of theUnited States, residing, respectively, at Aurora, in the county of Kaneand State of Illinois, and Columbus, in the county of Franklin and Stateof Ohio, have made certain new and useful Improvements in ReciprocatingEngines, of'which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates more particularly to a system of lubrication oroil distribution in gas engines and, in the accompanying drawings andspecification, is shown and ,struotions.

described with relation thereto, a four-cylinder,- four-cycle engine ofan ordinary type, being used for the purpose of illustration andexemplification. It will be readily understood, however, from thefollowing description that our invention is not limited to this type ofgas engine or in fact to the class of gas engines but is applicable incertain of its features and in its broadest aspect to reciprocatingSteam and other en-- gines of a great variety of types and con- It isone characteristic of our invention that the oil employed forlubrication is pumped or circulated in considerfollowing claims.

able quantities throughout the parts which it is desired to lubricateand in the preferred form of our invention, of which two modificationsare shown, the oil not only performs the function of a lubricant butalso serves to cool certain of the parts with which it is brought incontact, dispensing so far as these parts are concerned, with othercooling agents. Other features of our invention will appear from thefollowing description and the accompanying drawings, which, though theydisclose a preferred form or forms of our invention, as stated above, doso for the purpose of ex .emplification only, the limitation and extentof the invention being defined iirthe In the drawings, Figure 1 is aside eleva tion showing a four-cycle, four-cylinder engine to which ourinvention has been applied; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same in sec- 3tion upon the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a section'upon the line 3-3of Fig. 1 showing however certain details, to be referred to later, inelevation; Fig. 4 is a section upon the broken line H of Fig. 1; Fig. 5is a transverse section upon the line 5-5 of Fig.

1; Fig. 6 is an elevation of a preferred form of valve partly in centralsection; Figs. 7, 8 and 9 represent a modified form of valve, Fig. 7being in section upon the line 7-7 of Fig. 9, looking in the directionof the arrows, Fig. 8 a transverse section upon the line 88 of Fig. 9and Fig. 9 a vertical longitudinal section through a portion of thevalve casing and associated parts showing the valve partly in elevationand partly in section; and Fig. 10 is a detail of a certain part of themachine to be described later.

In the particular machine chosen to illustrate our invention, thecylinders are four in number and cast en bloc together withthe crankcasing as is common in engines of this character. The crank casing isopen .the upper end of the cylinders is formed a water chamber 20,having an inlet 21 and connected through openings 22 in its upper wall,and registering openings 23 in the bottom wall of the valve casing withthe water space 94 of the latter, and a manifold 25 is bolted to the topof the valve chamher and communicates with the. interior of the waterchamber 24 thereof along a considerable portion of its length to form anexit therefrom for the 'water of the cooling circulation. Extendinglongitudinally of the valve chamber and of the series of cyl inders arethe inlet and outlet valves 15 and 16 before referred to, which areseated within cylindrical chambers 17 '18 formed within the waterchamber of said casing, andthe inlet passage '26 for the ignitionmixture and the outlet passage'27 for the products of combustionlikewise extend throughout the length of'the valve casting andcommunicate with the valve bearings or chambers of the inlet and,outlet' valves respectively throughout. their length. The upper endof'the cylinders are open in the casting in which they are formed butclosed 'by concave caps 30 formed in the valve casting, and passages3lv32 connect the upper ends ofvthe cylinders with the interiors of thebearings'of the inlet and outlet valves respectively. Each valvecomprises a hollow cylindrical casting open throughout its length buttraversed opposite the passages leading to the cylinders by 4 gas portor way 33-34t by which at the proper intervals the interiors of theseveral cylinders are successively connected with the inlet and exhaustpassages respectively.

At each end each valve is provided with a hollow trunnion 35-36 for thepassage of oil as hereinafter described. The trunnions 35 at one end ofthe valves carry worm gears 37-38 which are keyed thereto and mesh witha common intermediate worm 39 which is driven from the main shaft 40 ofthe machine. In order that the worni may engage a sufficient extent ofthe peripheries of the worm wheels on the valves or, in other words,that it may engage simultaneously a sufficient number of the teeth toeffecta smooth and easy drive without at the same time necessitating sodesigning the casing mitting, short connect-ing passages therewith andbringing the inlet passage directly over the end of the spark plug. Thelatter feature is ofgreat importance since it prevents the spark plugbecoming fouled by carbon and the shortness of the passage 31facilitates complete or substantially complete scavenging of theexplosion chamber. Moreover this construction of the valve castingavoids any considerable masses of metal or thickening of the wallswhereby in previous engines of this type unequal expansion was caused,resulting in binding of the valve when the engine became heated. Themain shaft carries a' bevel gear ll at one end which meshes with acorresponding gear 42 upon the hollow vertical shaft 43 which carriesthe worm 39 above mentioned for driving the valves.

As will be readily understood by those familiar with gas engineconstruction, if the engine is of the four-cycle-type, each of thevalves must be given a single revolution for two revolutions of the mainor crank shaft and for this purpose the gearthough this ing between thevales -and crank shaft may be adjusted by varying the pitch of the wormand worm W eels and by properly proportiomng the bevel gears 4l42 uponthe crank and vertical shafts respectively;

The main shaft may be journaled in any ordinary or approved manner andextends through the crank casing in which it is pro vided with wrists43'which constitute bearvings for the connecting rods 19 referred toabove. The crank casing is in the main of a usual construction butprovided opposite each cylinder with outward corrugations or hollow ribs44 to accommodate the path of revolutionof split collars 44' by whichthe well-known gear type and which is well adapted to the purpose thoughother forms of pump may be employed. The pump is mounted in a housing 45which is attached to the end of the crank casing by bolts 46 -passingthrough its flange 4'7, and which covers and protects the bevel pinions41, 42 upon the main shaft and valve drive shaft respectively, and isformed with a hollow boss 48 which constitutes a bearing or journal forthe lower end of the valve drive shaft. The pump is driven from the samebevel gear 41, which as above described is employed to drive the valvemechanism and for this purpose is provided with a bevel pinion 49meshing with pinion 41 and mounted upon the journal of one of the pumpgears 50. The twin gear 51 is driven from gear 50 in the usual manner ofpumps of this character and the pump casing 52 is cast integral with thehousing 45. as shown more particularly in Figs. 1 and 3.

At the intake side the pump chamber comniunicates with asupply conduit53, which, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. l, dips to a point near. thebottom of the oil well or pan 12 and on the outlet. side the chambercommunicates with a conduit 54 which leads to a passage 55 cast integralwith and cxtending longitudinally of the crank chamber 10.

The position and construction of this passage is best shown in Figs. 1and 5, itbeing substantially straightthroughout the crank chamber andlocated upon the inside thereof within the outwardly extendingcorrugations provided to accommodate the revolution of the collars uponthe crankshaft as before described and outside the crank chamberintermediate said corrugations,

precise arrangement is not essential.

The oil passage 55 is perforated at points opposite each bearing uponthe crank shaft and the perforations 56 are directed downwardly andinwardly at an angle of approximately 45 but which may be variedaccording to the particular. design of the machine, and the passagebeing normally full of oil under some pressure due to the head of oil inthe lubricating system, a stream of the lubricant is directed. towardeach bearing upon the crank shaft. The upper half of the strap or collar4-4. by which the piston rod is attached to the crank shaft in eachinstance is provided with a flaring opening 57 extending through thestrap to the bearing surface as shown in Fig. 5, and as the crankshaftcarrying the straps revolves, each such opening is-brought atone pointof the revolution into the path of the stream of oil issuing from thecorrespondingv perforation 56, whereb the bearing on the wrist of .thecrank shaft is maintained in a condition of very thorough lubrication.Furthermore, the construction is such that each wrist and strap isbrought into the path of the injected stream of oil as it is rising andsince the shaft is revolving at considerable speed the oil is splashedand thrown upwardly within the lower portion of the engine cylinder andthoroughly lubricates the latter. v

From the longitudinal passage in the crank case the oil is conveyed bymeans of a conduit 58 to the interior of the valves, said conduitconnecting for this purpose at its lower end with an upward extension 59of the passage in the crank chamber, and at its upper end the conduit58, which in the present instance takes the form of a bent pipe or tubeis received into a socket 60 which communicates with a horizontalchamber 61 formed within a casting 62 which is attached by bolts 63 tothat end of the valve chamber which is opposite the driving mech anismfor the Valve. The chamber 61 is open on that. side which abuts againstthe end of the valve casting and the end wall of the latter isperforated for the reception of the hollow journals 36, 36, of therotary valves which extend through said end wall and into the chamber 61with which their openings communicate. As shown in Fig. 6 the bores ofthe hollow journals are open to the interior of the valves and a freepassage of oil to the latter is provided. The journals 35.npon theopposite ends of the cylindrical valve are also boredlongitudinally andextend through the end wall of the valvecasting into a housing 64 whichsurrounds the valve operating mechanism heretofore referred to includingthe worm wheels on the valve journals and the-intermediate worm as shownmore particularly in Flgs. '1 and 3. The oil is forced through thevalves and' from the housing 64 through the vertical valve operatingshaft 43 which is made Fig. 6) to form a communication between theinterior ofthe valves'carrying the lubricating oil and the exteriorthereof, and the perforations may be arranged at a ,suitable intervalsbut preferably there will be such an oil hole opposite each of the gaspassages or ports 33 since at these points the consumption of lubricantis greatest; and we form shallow, spiral grooves 66 extending the lengthof each valve body and communicating with the oil holes or perforationstherein for the purpose of distributing the oil as evenly as possiblethroughout the length of the valves, it being apparent that therevolution of the valves is sufficient to cause the lubricant to feedalong the helical grooves. By a reference to Figs. 1 and 3 it will beseen that the bore of the vertical shaft 43* opens from the housing 64containing the'valve gearing at a po nt almost on a level with the topof the chamber and as this overflow opening, as it may be called,determines the height of the oil in said chamber and therefore theheight of the oil in the valves, the latter are kept substantiallyfilled with oil at all times, which not only lubricates them as abovedescribed but being constantly circulated by the pump serves also tocool the valves.

In order to provide for the ready removal of the valve casing from themain or cylinder casting,'which. castings, as stated above, are distinctand separable, the vertical shaft' 43"- is made in two sections splicedtogether at their meeting ends by means of a downwardly extending tenon66 upon the upper section engaging a corresponding cross groove ormortise 65 in the lower section. as shown more particularly in thedetailed view, Fig. 10, there being an intermediate sleeve 67 extendingacross and covering the joint within the oil passage which is enlargedadjacent the abutting ends of the sections for this purpose. In order toseparate the main casting andvalve casting the bolts connecting them areunscrewed their the valve casing may be lifted off the spliced shaft 43offering no obstacle but parting at the splice. ginc may be readilyre-assembled withoutdanger of joining said shaft with the parts inimproper relatiomtb'e abutting ends may be grooved or otherwise marked,it being then merely necessary to secure registry of the marks in orderto assemble the sections of the shaft in proper relation. Any slightleakage of oil that may occur about the ver- In order, however, that theenin the bearing 48 of the housing 45*. At its lower end the sleevecommunicates with the lower bearing of the shaft 4:3 and, at its upperend,' with the upper bearing ofsaid shaft and as the latter is open tothe interior of the housing 6% there is a constant movement of oildownward through the bearings of the vertical shaft and into the housing45. The latter is open to the interior of the crank casing so that theoil received therein flows into the crank casing and together with thesurplus oil from the cylinders, crank bearings, etc., passes through thescreen 13 into the well or pan 12 from which it is again drawn by thepump and circulated through the lubrication system as above described. y

Ordinarily the screen 13 will be found sufficient to preventobjectionable impurities from. being circulated with the oil throughoutthe lubricating channels, but if desired additional purifying means maybe inserted in the system at any suitable point but preferably betweenthe pump and the oil passage 55 so that the entire body of oil passingthrough the pump may be purified. I

Obviously, the connections for supplying the explosive mixture andwithdrawing the products of combustion may be of any ordinary characterand in Fig. 4 at 70 we have shown an ordinary form of connectioncommunicating with the longitudinal exhaust passsage 27 for products ofcombustion, a similar or any suitable connection being adopted for the.inlet passage 26.

The continuous flow of 'oil through the valves and its circulationthrough the other parts of the engine prevents undue heating of thevalves as well as lubricates them, but

in some instances it may be preferred to cool' the valves by the watercirculation of the engine. In Figs. 7, 8 and 9, ive have shown amo'dified form of valve which is adapted tobe so cooled but in which thedistribution of .oil for the purpose of lubricating the valves issimilar to that already described. Instead, however, of the valve bodiesconstituting portions of the lubricant circulating system the hollowtrunnions 36 thereof communicate with a centrally located oil conduit 86which may be cast integral with the valve body and is diverted aroundthe gas passages 33 as shown more particularly in Figs. 8 and 9. Thisconduit communicates by a series of perforations with the exterior ofthe valve body to furnish lubricant for the surface thereof. Theinterior of the valve body or hollow shell 15 communicates by a seriesof openings 7l at each end with an annular channel 72 which in turncommunicates with the water chamber 24 of the valve casting through aseries of openings v73. By this construction the valve is lubricatedsubstantially asin the modification first described but the valve y ismaintained comparatively cool by reason of the fact that it forms a partof the water-circulating system.

It will now be obvious that by forming the valves hollow and cooling andlubricating them in either of the manners above described theirexpansion under the conditions of workingwill be substantially equal tothat of the valve casing and there will, in

consequence, be neither undue leakage nor binding as in the case ofengines'having solid rotary valves. Furthermore, our system oflubrication provides not only for the supply of a. suitable quantity ofoil to all parts of the engine requiring the same but constantly flushesthe lubricated parts and thus maintains them in the best possibleconditionfor the Fperformance of their functions.

We claim 1. In a reciprocating engine and in combination with thecylinder and piston thereof,.a rotary valve having transverse pas sagesfor the control of the motive fluid of the valve having perforationsextending to the bearing surface thereof for lubricating the same, meansat one end of the valve for supplying the-passage with oil, and anexhaust passagefor the exit of'oil at the other end of the valve.

2. In a reciprocating engine and in comthe engine, an oil passageextending through f bination with the cylinder and piston thereof, arotary valve having-transverse passages for controlling the supply ofmotive fluid therethrou h. an oil )assa e extendin b 1 I i3 through thevalve and having inlet and haust openings, a circulating systein'connected to said openings at the opposite ends of said valve andincluding means for causing the flow of oil theretlu-ough, there beingperforations in the valve extending from said oil passage to the bearingsurface of thevalve for lubricating the same.

3. In an engine of the reciprocating type .and'in combination with thecylinder and piston thereof, a hollow rotary valve for controlling theadmission of motive fluid to the cylinder, inlet and outlet openings tothe interior of the valve at its opposite ends, and lubricatingperforations extending through the wall thereof, an oilcllT'llli-ttll'lg system connected to the inlet and outlet openings ofthe valve respectively, and means-1n the system for forcing the oiltherethrough;

4C. In an engine of the reciprocating type including a series ofcylinders having pistons therein a rota valve extendin longitudinally ofthe series of cylinders and having transverse ports therein-for controlling the supply of motive fluid to the cylinders, an oil passageextending longitudinally of the valve and having perforations binationwith the cylinder'and piston thereof, a rotary valve having transversechan:

nels for controlling the supply of motive fluid to the engine cylinder,an oil chamber extending longitudinally of the valve, means forsupplying said chamber with oiland permitting its overflow, means forreceiving and carrying away said overflow, perforations extending fromthe oil chambers to the bearing surfaces of the valve, and oil channelsformed in the bearing surface of the valve.

6. In a device of the class described, comprising a series of cylindersand pistons and a crank shaft common to the series, a casing surroundingthe crank shaft, a valve casing secured to the series of cylinders, arotary valve in said casing, transverse passages through said valve forcontrolling the flow of gas to the cylinders, an oil passage extendinglongitudinally of the crank casing and perforated at suitable intervalsto spray oil upon the crank shaft, a longitudi nal oil passage throughthe valve, an oil conduit connecting the passage in the easing with thepassage in the valve and means for forcing oil through said passages.

7. A reciprocating engine comprising a series of cylinders, a valvecasing common to the cylinders," a rotary valve extending through saidcasing and having passages controlling the supply of gas to thecylinders, hollow trunnions on the valve, a worm Wheel on one of saidtrunnions, a worm.

meshing with said worm wheel, a housing surrounding .said worm and wormwheel,

and means r forcing oil through said valve and housing and withdrawing1t therefrom.

S. A combustion engine of the class described, comprising a plurality ofcylinders,

- a valve casing mounted above the same, a pair of rotary valves mountedin said casing and extending over the cylinders of said row and providedwith transverse passages for controlling respectively the inflow andoutflow of gases with respect to said cylinders, worm-wheels connectedto the respective valves, a worm intermediate and meshing with saidworm-wheels, a crank chamber, gearing within the crank chamber andahollow shaft connecting the worm and said gearing.

MARTIN J. MILLER. HARRY M. NEER.

Witnesses:

HARRY A. CLARKE, F. D. Moore.

